Salty Alphabet

Alexa really seems to be enjoying the summer program at her Montessori school, and it seems that her favorite part is the morning drop-off.

During the normal school year, Damon is able to take advantage of carline and drop Alexa off without having to go inside the school.  However, summer school doesn't have carline, so Alexa is walked directly to her classroom each morning, as even at 8am it's usually too hot for the playground (ahh...Arizona summer).  Alexa has been taking full advantage of this classroom drop off, as she uses it as an opportunity to show off her academic prowess and the lessons she does each day.  A drop-off that usually takes two minutes now takes at least 10-15 minutes.

Earlier in the week, I had promised Alexa I would take her to school on Friday, and sure enough, her elephant-like memory made sure I did exactly that today.  She has been raving about a new lesson at school - salt letters - so I had a pretty good suspicion that she would be showing me that lesson today.  It's a really creative way to learn and practice writing letters: it's a simple shallow box with salt covering the bottom, and Alexa selects a letter card to "write" the corresponding letter in the salt.  She proudly wrote six letters this morning before I had to leave her impromptu show & tell and head to work.

Apparently this new lesson is pretty popular, as the teacher told me they have been going through salt like crazy and actually needed more.  I knew I needed to go to the grocery store, so I volunteered to pick up some salt for the class, and while I was at the store tonight, I decided to get an extra box so we could replicate the lesson at home.  I quickly learned why the classroom was using so much salt; after writing letters in a Pyrex, Alexa had salt everywhere - the table, chair, floor, herself...  Thank goodness for the Swiffer.

The last letter she wrote tonight was the letter G - - "For Gabriella and Granty!" she exclaimed.  Suddenly the salt mess didn't seem like such a big deal; I just smiled and gave her a high-five and a hug. :)

A suddenly academic Alexa - reading "When You Give a
Pig a Pancake," and calling out letter sounds to me.